In the game of golf, a player may strike a golf ball while it lies directly on the ground or from a tee that has been placed into the ground when a golfer is hitting a “tee” shot.
Golf tees are commonly made of either plastic or wood. Golf tees vary somewhat in appearance and may be long or short for different playing conditions. However, golf tees are generally defined by having a head portion and a stem portion, whereby said head portion includes an upper surface for supporting a golf ball thereon and said stem portion is integrally formed with said head portion and provides a thinner portion for insertion into the ground. Said thinner portion is provided with a pointed end at one end and being attached to the head portion at the other end.
A golfer may prefer to hit the ball from a tee instead of off the ground for various reasons. One reason is that the ground surface may not be suitable for hitting the ball (e.g., frozen ground). Another reason is that it places the ball more easily into the path of the golf club's head. For example, drivers have heads that are larger than most other golf clubs and are often used for the first or “tee” shot. A player will often use a golf tee to ensure that the golf ball is placed in the club's swing path thereby ensuring that the club strikes the ball squarely in order to optimize distance and trajectory of the ball.
The game of golf has a great many number of variables to be overcome to produce a consistently good game. Reducing this number of variables stands to help improve a golfers game. One such area that can be improved is the placing of the tee. The tee height has an impact on where the ball strikes the head of the club. Placing the tee at the correct height consistently will improve the consistency of drive.
Several designs of golf tees have markings on the tee. One such approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,146 to Blosser (1994) disclosing a golf tee with stripes on the shaft. The stripes are at set heights giving the golfer the ability to consistently set the golf tee at specific height. Limitations of this approach are that the stripes are set by the manufacturer to preset heights not set by the golfer to the height that particular golfer needs. One other limitation is that these tees are not as readily available as standard golf tees.
When using a tee, a player manually pushes the shaft of the tee into the ground to a certain depth to place the top of the golf tee at a certain height above the ground surface. Varying this insertion depth varies the height at which the ball sits above the ground surface. Different clubs may require different ball heights in order to optimize the ball's distance and trajectory once it is hit. For example, for a large driver, the ball would likely be positioned higher (i.e., further from the ground), while use of a smaller club may require a ball to be positioned lower (i.e., closer to the ground).
Another reason for varying the tee height is that different golfers may have different preferences that are unique to them and may depend on a number of factors, such as their height, swing pattern, whether they want to hit a hook or slice shot, etc.
Once the golfer has determined a suitable tee height and club combination, the golfer endeavors to maintain that same combination from one shot to the next to ensure that the ball is hit consistently. Golfers who can minimize the number of variables in their game that may contribute to errors are often the most successful. Therefore, in addition to developing a consistent swing pattern, another important factor for having a successful golf game is to maintain a consistent tee height. In doing so, it is often beneficial to have some visual marking present on the golf tee itself to indicate how far the tee should be inserted into the ground. Finally, as mentioned before, the desired tee height may vary depending on the type and size of club used. Therefore, it is also preferable to have a way to easily mark the tee at different locations along the length of the shaft of the tee in order to provide for different tee heights.
The aforementioned patent does improve the consistency of golf ball height on a golf tee however; they do not make it infinitely adjustable nor do they have the ability to create variable height marks on an ordinary golf tees.
What is needed, therefore, is a golf tee marking device that provides a visual and tangible depth marking on the tee itself and means for adjusting the heights to assist the golfer in maintaining a consistent tee height from one shot to the next.
What is also needed, is a golf tee marking device that can mark the tee multiple times and at multiple heights, one height for drivers and another height for irons.
Golf tees are commonly made of either plastic or wood. What is also needed, is a golf tee marking device that can mark both plastic and wood golf tees.